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Peggy Wright

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Melvin Hester at his sentencing July 31, 2018 for punching a Morris County corrections officer in 2017.(Photo: Peggy Wright/Daily Record)Buy Photo

MORRISTOWN — A previously convicted sex offender was sentenced Tuesday to six years in prison for punching a Morris County corrections officer in the face and head last year.

Melvin Hester, 36, was in the county jail on Feb. 1, 2017 on a charge of failing to register with police as a convicted sex offender when he kicked open his cell door, grabbed Officer Frank Corrente in a headlock and punched him repeatedly in the face and head, according to authorities.

A Morris County jury in May found Hester guilty of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. The jury acquitted Hester of assault on a second jail officer, who charged Hester spat on him after the attack on Corrente. The attack on Corrente, which occurred when he was making late-night checks of inmates, was mostly captured on jail surveillance cameras.

"He demonstrates no insight with respect to his aggressive behavior," Superior Court Judge Catherine Enright said in sentencing Hester to six years behind bars, with two years of parole ineligibility. He will get credit for 545 days he already has spent in custody but he still faces the pending charge of failing to register with police as a convicted sex offender.

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In blue uniform, Morris County Corrections Officer Frank Corrente at sentencing of Melvin Hester who assaulted him in 2017.(Photo: Peggy Wright/Daily Record)

Hester previously was convicted in Morris County of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl while he was operating rides at a carnival in Wharton in 2003. A county jury in 2005 found Hester brought the girl into his trailer at carnival closing time and sexually assaulted her.

Originally from Georgia, he served seven years in state prison for the sexual assault. Upon release, he lived in Morris County and Newark.

Hester gave a rambling statement to the judge that blamed Corrente and cast himself as a victim. He made references to slavery and how he expects to draw clients as a future music producer.

"There's a lot of weak people who wouldn't last a week without copping to something. I feel sorry for them," Hester said of defendants who plead guilty instead of fight at trial.

"I'm just trying to live my life as it states in the Declaration of Independence," he said.

Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Gloria Rispoli asked the judge to sentence Hester to an extended term because of his prior conviction, and the judge granted her request for a sentence of six years. The third-degree crime normally is punishable by five years in prison and Rispoli could technically have asked for an extended term of 10 years.

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Melvin Hester at his sentencing July 31, 2018 for assaulting an officer at the Morris County jail.(Photo: Peggy Wright/Daily Record)

Defense lawyer Elizabeth Martin unsuccessfully asked the judge to grant a new trial, saying Hester wasn't informed he faced a mandatory extended sentence. The judge ruled against her and said she reviewed recordings of prior court hearings that show Hester was apprised of potential punishments and rejected all plea offers from the state.

"The defendant said he 1,000 percent understood the consequences of going to trial," Enright said.

Corrente, the son of former jail Warden Frank Corrente, was present for sentencing along with Morris County Sheriff James Gannon and superior corrections officers. Corrente sustained scratches, a cut over one eye and contussions to his wrist when attacked last year, Rispoli said.

After sentencing, Gannon said: "As sheriff of Morris County I am offended at the actions of Hester. He is a prior convicted violent felon and here we go again with an act of violent behavior."

"My officers are part of my family. They operate a state-of-the-art and nationally-ranked correctional facility that ensures the proper care and custody of the entire inmate population. Hester committed an aggravated assault on one of my officers. This is unacceptable. Let Hester think about his behavior during his time in custody," Gannon said.